Need a wood stove recommendation!

I think you should take a look at some wood furnaces like the Caddy.

http://www.psg-distribution.com/index-en.aspx

Yeah, I think we're talking wood burning furnace here. I'm moving this thread to the Boiler Room, where the expertise on such units resides.

Right, got it. I didn't move you to the Pellet forum. I moved you to the forum where the folks who know the most about woodburning devices that are ducted reside. These are called wood furnaces. Rick

Just doin' my job, as they say. I hope you find some useful information. Rick

If your looking for a furnace to duct into the home that's EPA certified, the Caddy made by PSG is a good furnace. What's your current setup like? Ducting, square footage, insulation, etc.? If a woodfurnace is what your looking for theres 3 different installs, series, parallel or standalone. One uses the blower from the existing central furnace, one is installed side by side and requires dampers and one stands alone. With some more info and what your looking for, we can guide you in the right direction.

I miscalculated your square footage. A Caddy would almost be too much for the home, but you don't have to fill the furnace every time. You would need a decent blower, which you could run a trunk off the plenum of the woodfurnace into the area above the airhandler and coil on the heat pump. A backdraft damper would be placed where there would be no back flow from the woodfurnace into the airhandler. As far as the return goes, maybe a centrally located duct would be okay. This would allow for the flow of air to circulate through the home. You would get heat in the basement from the woodfurnace alone, or a duct or two if needed.

From what your describing, you would need to be around 25' from the ductwork. The furnace would require a plenum on both the supply and return. A trunk or duct that large enough would connect the woodfurnace plenum to the ductwork of the heat pump. You need a backdraft damper below this. If it's not feasible to connect the cold air return to the returns of the home, a single duct large enough for the furnace could be centrally located in the home. There are things like clearances to combustibles that need to be followed for the unit and ductwork. It shouldn't be a difficult install. As far as heating the basement is concerned, the heat generated from the furnace and ductwork would heat the basement.

How old is the home and how well is the insulation? Could you post a few pics of the current setup with the ducting?